News of: Saturday, 21st of July, 2012

Front Page

It was an evening at Nuhash Palli; Humayun Ahmed had invited a host of relatives. As the guests gathered near a pond at the writer's beloved retreat, a “gorilla” appeared out of nowhere, scaring the life out of all, especially the children.

Several thousand fans and admirers yesterday joined the first janaza (funeral) of legendary writer Humayun Ahmed at Jamaica Muslim Centre in New York after the juma prayers (around midnight Bangladesh Time). Some of the fans even travelled all the way from California to pay their last tribute to this illustrious man.

In the first-ever vice-chancellor panel polls at Jahangirnagar University during the rule of the Awami League-led government, its senate members yesterday elected a three-member panel amid agitation from a section of teachers.

Days after two dozen top global apparel buyers gathered in Dhaka to share concerns over persistent labour unrest, top US officials painted a grim picture of Bangladesh's human and labour rights situation in a Congress hearing Thursday.

Syrian forces launched an all-out assault on opposition strongholds in Damascus yesterday, a day after rebels seized crossings on the Iraq and Turkey borders on the 16-month conflict's deadliest day so far.

The ongoing crisis at Buet seems to be far from over as the agitating teachers yesterday vowed to continue their demonstration until either the vice-chancellor (VC) and pro vice-chancellor quit their posts or are removed by the government.

Humayun Ahmed aged 64 breathed his last in a New York hospital on July 19 after a prolonged fight against cancer. The writer will no longer enthrall readers and viewers with his uncanny ability to weave stories around everyday lives that touched the hearts and minds of millions of the middle class and the common man. How does one pray tribute to Ahmed? A professor of chemistry, he made the transition successfully to fiction writer extraordinaire. Ahmed won the Bangla Academy Award in 1981 and Ekushey Padak in 1994.

Sports

Elias Sunny and Mahmudullah Riyad did the job with the ball after Nasir Hossain's maiden Twenty20 fifty as Bangladesh wiggled past Ireland in a 1-run win in the second game of the series at Stormont in Belfast last night.

“We had dreamt of building a football academy for a long time but could not do so earlier due to financial problems. Our dream has finally come true after this agreement with the BKSP… After receiving clearance for the Sylhet BKSP, our first job will be to collect funds and start the academy within one and a half months,” Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin said during the agreement signing ceremony on December 18, 2011.

Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla laid the foundations for a significant score as South Africa recovered from the early loss of Alviro Petersen to reach 86 for one at the close of the second day of the first Test against England at The Oval on Friday.

Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt and Jamaica's star-studded track and field team have been training under heavy security at the University of Birmingham since their arrival here just about a week ago.

The Mumbai police have reportedly confirmed that Rahul Sharma, the India leg-spinner, and Wayne Parnell, the South Africa fast bowler, tested positive for recreational drugs. The BCCI said it would wait for all the details before taking any action against Rahul who, along with Parnell, was among the 90 people detained by the police after a raid on a party in Mumbai in May.

A rejuvenated India would look for a winning start to the new season but the task would be easier said than done against a strong Sri Lanka as the two sides clash in a five-match ODI series starting on Saturday.

Metropolitan

It is just before sunset and a thick humidity hangs in the air. Summer's flowers are mostly gone except for a few krishnachuras and jaruls which persist with tenacity; meanwhile, rongons have arrived with their colourful show. The day's heat lingers, holding out the coolness of the evening. My body feels much heavier than it is, my breathing is laboured and my lungs work furiously to extract oxygen from the moisture-laden air. My muscles groan and my joints creak protesting against the thumping to and fro motion. But the discomfort eases after the first few minutes and I settle into a smooth rhythm.

The ruling Awami League yesterday decided to observe August 17 and 21 as “Black Day” protesting against terrorism and criminal activities and chalked out programmes to observe National Mourning Day on August 15.

In the latest jab at Pakistan, the US House of Representatives has unanimously voted to cut military aid to it by a whopping $650 million, with a top Republican lawmaker calling the country “Benedict Arnold”, the most well-known traitor in American history.

Southeast Asian states yesterday sought to save face with a call for restraint and dialogue over the South China Sea, but made no progress in healing a deep divide about how to respond to China's growing assertiveness in the disputed waters.

A US military judge on Thursday barred WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning from citing evidence at his trial alleging he caused no serious harm to the United States when he released a massive trove of secret government documents.

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi met Palestinian Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Thursday, a day after hosting his rival Mahmud Abbas amid scrutiny over how Cairo's policy on the Palestinians might change.

The Election Commission yesterday rejected Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's vote in the presidential poll and directed the Returning Officer (RO) not to count it as the secrecy of the ballot had been violated.

A Chinese court yesterday upheld a $2.4 million fine for tax evasion against the country's most famous dissident, Ai Weiwei, after barring him from attending the hearing, in a case that critics accuse Beijing of using to muzzle the outspoken artist.

Arts & Entertainment

As the news of his death broke out, reactions poured in from friends, colleagues and well-wishers of author-filmmaker extraordinaire Humayun Ahmed. They termed Ahmed as “a man of principle”, “a highly creative individual”, “a multifaceted talent”, “an author who created a multitude of readers”, “a father figure” and beyond.

During his recent trip back home, before going back to New York for continuation of his medical treatment, I had an opportunity to meet Humayun Ahmed at Nuhash Polli. Here's an account of my last interaction with the master storyteller.

OP-ED

A popular view is that policing in South Asia does not command the confidence of the public because it is seen as oppressive, unfair and woefully inefficient. Consequently, the police are frequently alienated from the communities they serve and hence have less chance of successfully containing crime, civil unrest and extremist violence. Even when in desperate need, a visit to the police station is often viewed as a measure of last resort. Across the region a number of common problems plague policing.

Fasting during the sacred month of Ramadhan is obligatory for every Muslim provided he or she is adult and in full possession of his or her faculties. It is considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam.

Environment

The constitution of Bangladesh -- article 143-- illustrates that all natural resources on land and underground minerals and other things of value underlying the ocean within the territorial waters, or the ocean over the continental shelf of Bangladesh, are the properties of Bangladesh. In general, natural resources include oil and gas, minerals and metals, forests, fish, land and water. In Bangladesh, some 83% of the total population explicitly depends on natural resources. Therefore, to ensure sustainable use of these resources is important to establish natural resource governance practice.

World Environment Day is observed every year to raise public awareness on environmental issues. the United Nations Environment Programme working on environmental issues declared the theme of world environment day 2012 with a query 'Green Economy: Does it include you?' The answer of course, is obvious: participation.

Literature

The University of Dhaka was established in 1921 under the Dacca University Act 1920 of the Indian Legislative Council. It opened its doors to academic activities on 1 July 1921 with 3 faculties, 12 teaching departments, 60 teachers, 847 students and 3 residential halls. Today, arriving at the age of ninety two, the university has 10 faculties, 48 departments, 9 institutes, 26 research centres, 1,345 teachers, about 25,000 students and 17 residential halls. After the partition of India in 1947, the university was transformed from its status of a residential institution to a teaching-cum-affiliating institution as well as a proud alma mater of the country's leading intelligentsia, academics, political leadership, businessmen and bureaucrats.

Esha shifts uneasily in the passenger's seat as Safwan slams the door shut beside her. She nervously clicks open the lock on her leather purse and pulls out her mother's old Nokia cellphone in one swift motion. Safwan's footsteps on the rain-soaked asphalt echo in her ears like the ticking of a slow moving second hand on a clock.

Star Health

The holy month of Ramadan — the month of fasting and prayer has arrived again. But for the millions of Muslims with diabetes, it can be a challenging time of fluctuations in blood sugar level that can be dangerous, even deadly! With proper evaluation of physical condition, taking extra precaution and adjustment of medicine, Muslim diabetics can manage their condition better in this holy month.

In thirty-one years fight against HIV/AIDS, most of the effort has gone into treatment to keep the virus under control and development of vaccines to stop transmission. Finding a cure for HIV was a dare dream for decades. With some new developments and better understanding of the mysterious virus, the scientists are now desperately hoping for a cure of HIV/AIDS, what they believe is the only way to end epidemic.

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh. According to The Liver Foundation of Bangladesh, about 7%-10% population have hepatitis B infection. One could get hepatitis B through contact with an infected person’s blood, semen or other body fluid.

New research from the U.S. finds that egg therapy, eating small but gradually increasing daily doses of egg white powder, may help affected children overcome their allergy to eggs. However, the researchers urge people not try it at home because the conditions have to be carefully controlled by a trained doctor.

A polypill combining a statin that lowers cholesterol along with blood pressure drugs could prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes every year, according to a UK study published in the journal PLoS One.

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Strategic Issues

As President Barack Obama rules out an “outside” solution to Kashmir, there are strong indications that the United States is fast developing interest in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pertinent in this regard was the five-day visit of a three member delegation from the US embassy in Islamabad to Gilgit Baltistan. The embassy delegation comprising Lisa Buezonos (Political/Economic officer), Kimberley Phelan (Political Officer) and Khalid Javed (Security Advisor) visited Gilgit Baltistan between 30 May and 3 June 2012. Their high profile visit to the region came as a surprise in view of the recent sectarian strife in the region. Prior to the visit, the US embassy officials approached the local administration in Gilgit Baltistan for security cover.

In wake of the Abu Jindal revelations, not much could be expected from the Joint Statement at the end of the recently held meeting between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan. For that reason perhaps the 'one small step' that has potential of being 'a giant leap' for the region has been missed. This article recommends a direction for taking the refreshing initiative forward. The nugget in question reads: “It was decided that separate meetings of the Expert Level Groups on Nuclear and Conventional CBMs will be held to discuss implementation and strengthening of the existing CBMs and suggest additional mutually acceptable steps that could build greater trust and confidence between the two countries, thereby contributing to peace and security.”

The sun beat down fiercely as I walked down the track leading to the primary school of Khargor. Khargor is a small village under Nabinagar upazilla under Brahmanbaria district. It is located at a distance of 15 kilometer west of Brahmanbaria. The students of the primary school assembled under the trees next to the school to participate in the discussion on Liberation War. I am following up the project of participating in the discussion on Liberation War of Bangladesh mainly with the student community in the rural areas. Braving the hit, the students were attentive and engrossed when I was discussing with them on the various incidents of Liberation War.

Star Books Review

Baromashi or baromaishya are songs sung by rural women narrating their agony of being away from their loved ones. The songs usually describe the state of a woman in different seasons while her loved one is missing. As the song mentions, baromashi means 'of twelve months.'

The Pakistan army with the help of anti-liberation elements Razakars, Al-Badr, Al-Shams and Peace Committees killed over 7,000 people in Dhaka only in the twenty four hours beginning from the wee hours of March 25, 1971.

Suppose you had a nightmare where the police suspect that you are a terrorist (even though, in truth, you're as clean as a whistle). You're on the brink of going to jail. You had a bright future ahead that is reduced to dust. Your boyfriend/girlfriend cheated on you. You had a criminal record slapped on you which reduced your career prospects to window-cleaning and even that is a long-shot. But before things get 'too' bad, you can simply wake up. The protagonist, Samira, in Jabeen Akhtar's Welcome to Americastan has no such luck- all of the events, while seeming like a bad nightmare to her, is very, very real.